welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines... thousands take to the streets of chinese cities to protests against the strict covid restrictions — with some openly calling for president xi to stand down. the government seems to have drastically underestimated popular discontent — yet for the moment, has no easy way out. protests take place in london too, as many flock to the embassy. we'll bring you all the latest reaction to events in china. also coming up on the programme... at least seven people are killed in a landslide triggered by torrential rain on the italian island of ischia

— buildings and homes have been swept away. well, a crane and a whole team are needed to lift just one vehicle — the mudslide hurled so many of them with its force. when the torrent of debris and earth came hurtling down here, little could withstand it. is this the goal that keeps germany in the world cup? we have the latest on the action in qatar. and the british singer dua lipa says she's honoured to receive albanian citizenship in a ceremony hosted by the albanian president, in tirana. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello, and welcome to the programme. protests in china against the government's strict covid measures have intensified,

with some of those taking part openly calling for the country's leader, xijinping, to stand down. these recent demonstrations have been prompted by a deadly fire in the western region of xinjiang last week, amid suggestions that rescue efforts were hindered by coronavirus restrictions — a claim the authorities have rejected. there were demonstrations in some of the biggest cities, including shanghai, wuhan, and beijing. from there, stephen mcdonell reports it's not unusual to see acts of defiance in china, but this was something different. chanting a crowd of protesters in shanghai chanted, calling for the country's leader, xijinping, to stand down and for the communist party to give up power. a fire which killed ten residents in xinjiang last week has prompted widespread anger in china.

zero—covid restrictions have been blamed for hampering people's escape and slowing the access for fire crews. whether this is true or not, it sparked waves of protests in the regional capital, urumqi. this has now spread to other cities and university campuses, as spontaneous memorial services for those who died in the fire have transformed into demonstrations calling for an end to lockdowns. translation: it's all too chaotic. - the implementation has been so messy. it's been three years already. translation: the pandemic policy is prolonging _ our suffering. this policy is neither sustainable nor scientific. this policy won't change unless we speak up. people are also blaming xi jinping personally for not changing the zero—covid approach, which is

forcing business after business to shut down. the policy is tied to something that really hits people in their everyday lives. the question of whether they can get on with going to work, that's where these restrictions have really come up against the idea that it is the leadership that is forcing these policies. protests have been building in china all year, with people here increasingly sick of zero—covid restrictions. the government seems to have drastically underestimated popular discontent, yet, for the moment, has no easy way out of the zero—covid corner it's painted itself into. officially, china's goal is to return each outbreak to zero new infections using strict stay—at—home orders, travel restrictions, and mass testing. entire cities are still being locked down. but it's been criticised for not prioritising vaccination amongst high—risk groups and not increasing

hospital capacity. there's also still no stated plan to open up, even at some time in the future. stephen mcdonnell, bbc news, beijing. for more, on this i am joined now from shanghai by frank tsai, who is founder of china crossroads, a forum which organises public lectures in china, most recently about covid. and we have spoken to frank before, it's great to see you back on the programme, thank you forjoining us. you've lived in china for 15 years or so — i know protests are unusual there, so — i know protests are unusualthere, but so — i know protests are unusual there, but this size and scale, how unprecedented in your view is this? i and scale, how unprecedented in your view is this?— your view is this? i haven't seen any _ your view is this? i haven't seen any protests - your view is this? i haven't seen any protests of- your view is this? i haven't seen any protests of this l your view is this? i haven't - seen any protests of this scale in shanghai in the entire 15 years i've lived here. in the past 2—3 decades, there's been tens of thousands of small scale protests, usually about labour rights and against land grabs by officials, but very

few targeting the central government, and just basically nothing targeting the regime itself, saying that president xi or the ccp should step down. so this is why we have some comparisons now with 1989. there are a couple of facts i think that are causing this right now — as your introduction said, a lot of it is frustration with zero—covid, and part of it is simply that xijinping gota and part of it is simply that xijinping got a third term, which explains why some of these frustrations have been at these frustrations have been at the regime itself. in a couple other things — we had a lot of hope about lifting the restrictions about a couple of weeks ago, and the quarantines got shorter, we were kind of promise that things would get looser. and i think whenever there are rising expectations, people think things will get better and it's easy to get frustrated and dissatisfied.

frank, there have been these protests that you've been talking about over the course of the weekend — what was the mood at these organisations, these demonstrations, i should say? and what is the sense of what might happen in the coming days? i what might happen in the coming da s? . , what might happen in the coming da 5? . , . what might happen in the coming da s? ., what might happen in the coming das? ., days? i was an observer at the rotests days? i was an observer at the protests yesterday, _ days? i was an observer at the protests yesterday, saturday l protests yesterday, saturday afternoon in shanghai, i went before it was broken up by the police. i know a number of people were taken away. i also think in shanghai and across the country, there's been police restraint, there hasn't been police brutality, more or less, despite all the videos being sent around. ian observer they are on saturday night —— i was in an observer —— wasn't an observer. that one was much bigger and something truly unprecedented in shanghai. one thing i'll say is

that in a place like china, it's very hard for your frustrations to be known because there are these bottom—up democratic institutions for people to vent their frustrations —— there aren't. so when they are very frustrated, it builds up into huge protests, and this is happened repeatedly in chinese history. i like to say it takes 1 million people to make change, it takes 1oo 1 million people to make change, it takes 100 million in china. in a certain sense, it's less stable in china because it requires these huge movements to make change. fix, requires these huge movements to make change.— to make change. a fascinating insiuht, to make change. a fascinating insight. and — to make change. a fascinating insight, and in _ to make change. a fascinating insight, and in terms - to make change. a fascinating insight, and in terms of - to make change. a fascinating insight, and in terms of how. insight, and in terms of how people are organising themselves, how do you think they are doing that? what are you expecting over the course of the next few days in terms of the next few days in terms of further demonstrations, or even a crackdown? i of further demonstrations, or even a crackdown?— of further demonstrations, or even a crackdown? i think the big question _ even a crackdown? i think the big question we _ even a crackdown? i think the big question we are _ even a crackdown? i think the big question we are all- big question we are all wondering is how are they organising this? it's not that coordinated, these are very spontaneous — saturday night in

shanghai, it was a smaller group of student organisers with their vigilfor a group of student organisers with their vigil for a room she, and then onlookers started dissipating. —— urumqi. videos that show protests are muted, that's happened to me too. so if there are not a lot of coordinators right now, how does the government crackdown without a set of ringleaders? let's not say this is a mass movement yet, like 1989 or even iran now, it'sjust too movement yet, like 1989 or even iran now, it's just too early, iran now, it's just too early, i wouldn't say that. so it's not a mass movement. how can the government really crackdown, short ofjust crackdown, short of just locking crackdown, short ofjust locking us up again? which i don't think will happen, i think the communist party is in a real pickle right now. indeed, frank, thanks so much forjoining us again on newsday. and you'll find much

more on the protests in china on our website where there is a live page keeping you up—to—date with all the latest developments. head over to the bbc news website or simply download the news app if you haven't done so already. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines... in an online video, the niece of iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, has called on all foreign governments to cut ties with tehran. activists say farideh morad—khani was arrested injanuary and is being held in a notorious tehran prison. thousands of people from the kurdish community in northeast syria have been protesting against turkish cross—border air—strikes. demonstrators in the city of qamishli held up photos of some of the nearly 60 people killed in the attacks. the air strikes on the semi—autonomous kurdish zones began a week ago in response to a bombing in istanbul this month.

pope francis has spoken of his worries about increased violence between israelis and palestinians. the pontiff highlighted last wednesday's bomb attacks injerusalem that killed an israeli teenager and the death of a palestinian boy on the same day in the occupied west bank. a huge landslide on the italian island of ischia is now known to have killed seven people. about five others are still missing after homes and vehicles were buried by a torrent of mud on saturday morning. our correspondent mark lowen travelled to the island, which is just off the coast of naples, and sent this report. rescuing the fragments of once tranquil ischia. divers picked out what they could after the mudslide that cascaded through this island, tossing what lay in its path into the ocean or into each other. some cars battered beyond recognition as torrents of mud poured down here. they scoured the seas

for wreckage and bodies. with the number of deaths growing and reports of islanders still missing, the fear is that as more areas are reached, other victims will be found. it began before dawn on saturday after torrential rain, the deepest and most sudden on record here, unleashing the chaos that tore down the hills. from above, the destruction was clear, with houses buried, many of them illegally built and unable to withstand the mud. well, this just shows the weakness of man against nature. while a crane and a whole team are needed to liftjust one vehicle, the mudslide hurled so many of them with its force. when the torrent of debris and earth came hurtling down here, little could withstand it. up the hill, the desolation deepens — a whole square under mud, desperate attempts to save what they can. we found raphaela,

devastated by the destruction of her shop that rents motorbikes to tourists. translation: my son has shut himself indoors - because he doesn't want to see any of this. he feels ill because he's seeing all of our sacrifices were worthless. i hope someone will help us. i'm speechless. with rescue teams inundated, her husband and elderly father have had to step in to help clear the mud. translation: i feel destroyed for my daughter, of course. - we'll try and see if someone will help, because we've worked all our lives to build this, and all of a sudden, it disappeared. supplies have been brought for dozens evacuated from their homes, put up in hotels — guests on their own island. larysa, from ukraine, has lived here for 20 years. i came out shouting to my husband that our neighbours had lost their daughter and her baby.

i was back in ukraine during the war, then i came here and our houses are destroyed and people are missing. how could this happen? then a mass to bring solace to those seeking answers in tragedy. their minds turned to the moment the earth broke away and engulfed their lives, an island overwhelmed by itself. mark lowen, bbc news, ischia. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we'll have the story behind this world cup picture — and we'll tell you who's in and who's out of the tournament. it's quite clear that the worst victims of this disaster are the poor people living in the slums which have sprung up around the factory. i'm feeling so helpless that the children are

dying in front of me, and i can't do anything. charles manson is the mystical leader of the hippie cult suspected of killing sharon tate and at least six other people in los angeles. at 11am this morning, just half a metre of rock separated - britain from continental europe _ it took the drills just i a few moments to cut through the final obstacle. then philippe cozette, a miner| from calais, was shaking hands and exchanging flags| with robert fagg, his opposite number from dover. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm karishma vaswani

in singapore. our headlines... thousands take to the streets of chinese cities to protests against the strict covid restrictions — with some openly calling for president xi to stand down. at least seven people are killed in a landslide triggered by torrential rain on the italian island of ischia — buildings and homes have been swept away. let's turn to ukraine now — where snow is falling in kyiv and temperatures are hovering around freezing, as the country battles to cope with power cuts after a barrage of russian missile strikes targeting ukraine's energy grid. the cold weather is pushing up energy needs even as repair workers race to fix wrecked power facilities. jessica parker reports from kyiv. it's almost a novelty, the lights come on. the water, too! ludmilla, who lives on her own had, like millions, been without power for days.

these outages could keep happening again and again this winter. is it bearable? translation: it's impossible to live in the city _ without electricity and water, the radiators doesn't work, the water is cold, it's cold everywhere. only one hope remains, that we will win. we had found her here the night before, in a tent by a main road, one of the many public refuges springing up across ukraine. it's a lifeline for everyday contact, but also emergencies. irena, nine months pregnant, wants to know she can call for help just in case. we come here because we need extra call to 911, for emergencies, because i am pregnant, and after

today, i am due. here there is heat, a chance to work, or play. some just sit in silence. this war could be a long wait. volodymyr and his mother are here to get hot water for his child, who's unwell. olga says the strain of it all is getting to her. translation: it was already very difficult for me, i used i to hold on but now my nervous system cannot cope with this load. it's so hard, this morning i could barely get up. winter brings a few guarantees, except the cold, and fears russia will keep targeting ukraine's energy system, driving people here to shelter from their own homes. jessica parker, bbc news, kyiv. one of the global effects

of the war in ukraine has been wheat becoming more scarce and more expensive in many countries — because of the disruption to grain from ukraine. but there's also a need for new varieties of wheat better able to cope with disease and climate change. rebecca morelle has more. wheat. in britain, the most momentous harvest of all time. _ it's a crop we've long relied on. wheat being harvested in 19116. theirenemies- are wind and rain. it was the start of a farming revolution, growing only a few varieties chosen to produce as much grain as possible. every ear counts. it's led to a lack of diversity. and today's wheat is coming under intense pressure from climate change and disease. could contain a solution. there are 12,000 specimens

of wheat and its relatives stored here, and they date back to the 1700s and come from every continent apart from antarctica. and the hope is that looking back into the past can help us to produce the crops of the future. this specimen, which was collected on captain cook's first voyage to australia... oh, wow, you can see the dates, can't you? every wheat specimen is painstakingly examined and photographed, and 1,500 of them will have their genomes sequenced. because the collection spans also across time, across 300 years, we have specimens that are from before the introduction of various agricultural techniques, so they can tell us something about how wheat was growing wild, or before things like artificial fertilisers. the project will take months to complete. ah, so here we are. at thejohn innes centre, in norwich, they're also shining a light on the past.

i wanted to show you these old herbarium sheets. their samples go back 100 years and they're looking to crossbreed these older plants with today's varieties. and what we want to do is look for new and useful genetic variation. so disease resistance, stress resistance, increased yield. they've already started some field trials. it's essential to find solutions. climate change and the extreme weather it brings is reducing the amount we can grow globally. and pests and diseases are a big problem, too. one fifth of the projected yield is lost to them each year. there's a very important disease of wheat, which is a global problem called yellow rust, and that has been increasingly difficult to control and defend wheat against. within this collection of old wheat, there are new resistances to that disease which stand up against this disease. and they're being deployed by breeders right now to defend this really important threat

to wheat production. the wheat we grow is going to have to change. looking back into our past and rediscovering lost varieties could be the best way to move forward. rebecca morelle, bbc news. turning to the world cup now — and there were four matches in the group stages on sunday. there was another upset with morocco beating one of the pre—tournament favourites belgium and a dramatic draw between spain and germany. rhia chohan is in doha. it was the headline match in the group stages, and spain were looking for that win to send them straight through after that emphatic victory over costa rica, the 7—0 win. and it was, as you mentioned, it was a great finish for alvaro morata in the 62nd minute, putting them ahead. but even more was riding on it for germany — and that was because they wanted to avoid a second group stage exit in successive world cups. and it was germany's best

player on the night, jamal musiala, that did set up that crucial equaliser. nicholas fullkrug making it a draw, germany clenching it with that one point that they crucially needed. so if you talk about permutations now, germany still need to win the final game against costa rica. and it will come down to the goal difference betweenjapan and germany. and it's spain that do playjapan. now back to that sensational result from morocco, as the team defeated belgium 2—0. morocco's win marks their first world cup victory since 1998, moving them above belgium in their group. and in the following game, croatia made easy work of canada with a a—1victory. that means canada is out of the world cup. dua lipa has received albanian

citizenship in a ceremony hosted by the albanian president in tirana. the singer was born in london, but her roots go back to kosovo. wendy urquhart reports. # i #igot # i got you, moonlight # i got you, moonlight # your my starlight... dua lipa is famous all over the world, and her disco pop songs have won her a clutch of awards, including three grammies, two mtv europe awards, and six brit awards. herfamily are mtv europe awards, and six brit awards. her family are coast albanians who fled team? in albanians who fled to london in the 19905 and returned briefly in 2008 - the 19905 and returned briefly in 2008 — but dua lipa has never forgotten her root5. in 2008 — but dua lipa has neverforgotten her root5. on sunday 5he neverforgotten her root5. on sunday she was welcome to tirana by the president, who presented her with albanian citizenship and said she had made her country proud. translation: it made her country proud. translation:— made her country proud. translation: it is a special leasure translation: it is a special pleasure today _ translation: it is a special pleasure today in _ translation: it is a special pleasure today in the - pleasure today in the presidency to welcome the greatest arti5t, dua lipa, and herfamily. i say a great artist, a simple girl whose

fame is known all over the world. she has given us the greatest pride.— world. she has given us the greatest pride. dua lipa grew u . greatest pride. dua lipa grew up listening _ greatest pride. dua lipa grew up listening to _ greatest pride. dua lipa grew up listening to david - greatest pride. dua lipa grew up listening to david bowie, i up listening to david bowie, bob dylan, radiohead and the police — mainly thanks to her dad, who's also a singer—songwriter. and she was inspired by madonna, gwen stephani, and blondie. but getting her albanian citizenship clearly a precious moment for the singer. translation: it moment for the singer. tuna/mom- moment for the singer. translation: it is a great honour for— translation: it is a great honour for me _ translation: it is a great honour for me and - translation: it is a great honour for me and my - translation: it is a great | honour for me and my family translation: it is a great - honour for me and my family to have an opportunity to represent my country and people. represent my country and --eole. , , ., people. this girl is no wallflower _ people. this girl is no wallflower - - people. this girl is no wallflower - she - people. this girl is no wallflower - she has. people. this girl is no - wallflower - she has frequently wallflower — she has frequently spoken out against 5exi5m and the music industry and i5 spoken out against 5exi5m and the music industry and is an avid 5upporter the music industry and is an avid supporter of the lgbtq community. dua lipa has clearly found her potion for success — she's top of the charts all over the world, modelled for several top fashion countries, featured on the cover of numerous magazines, and even

designed her own clothes. now she's officially albanian too. wendy urquhart, bbc news. isn't she fantastic was dua lipa my favourites. thanks for watching. hello there. november has been very mild, it's also been very wet. but as we head towards december, the weather pattern will change over the week ahead. it's going to be turning drier. it's also going to be turning colder. there may well be some mist and fog around as well. we've got a few patches of that developing already, particularly across north east england. it will be a colder start, i think, to monday morning. temperatures could be three or four degrees. there'll be a few showers around it as well. mist and fog will slowly lift during the morning. we'll see the showers fading away from scotland and northern ireland. sunshine around here. a few more showers coming in off the irish sea into west wales, south west england, and the odd one in the afternoon through the midlands and southern england. but large parts of the uk in the afternoon will be dry with some sunshine.

the winds will be lighter. it may be a touch cooler though, although still temperatures reaching 10—11 celsius, which is on the mild side for this time of the year. but things are going to get colder. we're going to find the showers are fading away and skies will clear overnight as this ridge of high pressure builds in in time for tuesday morning. and where the skies do remain clear, there may well be a risk of frost, particularly across parts of scotland. but given all the moisture after all that rain, we're more likely to find some mist and fog forming, particularly through the midlands, perhaps even into the central belt of scotland. and that fog could linger in a few places, keeping it particularly cold. where the fog does tend to lift in across large parts of the country, there will be some sunshine coming through, and we still could see temperatures reaching 9 celsius in belfast. where it stays grey and murky, though, with that mist and low cloud, temperatures will be near 6—7 celsius. weather fronts are trying to push in from the atlantic, not making a great deal of progress. we've got the weather blocked off by that high pressure extending from scandinavia. there's still a lot of cloud

on the scene on wednesday, but the fog signal is much reduced because there's maybe a little bit more of a breeze. and some places will see some sunshine. for many, though, still cloudy and those temperatures only around 7—8 celsius. the mild atlantic air that we've had through much of november really not making much progress in the uk. big blocking area of high pressure extends from scandinavia, keeping us in that colder weather as well. so if we look at the city forecast, you can see how those temperatures drop away. there's going to be a lot of cloud through the week ahead by the end of the week, maybe a few showers as we pick up an easterly wind.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi. i'm in the serpentine galleries in london where there is a major exhibition of the work of the renowned american artist barbara chase—riboud. her art is on display in museums around the world, and she is also an award—winning novelist and poet. throughout her long career,

barbara has been fascinated by public memorials and her sculptures honour